Synopses & Reviews
When, as a young man in the 1880s, Benjamin Lundy signed up for unimaginably hard duty aboard a square-rigged commercial sailing vessel -- one destined for a treacherous, white-knuckle passage around that notorious "graveyard of ships," Cape Horn -- he had no idea that his experience would also provide a window into an epochal transition that would fundamentally change man's relation to the sea.
A century later, Derek Lundy, author of the bestselling Godforsaken Sea and an accomplished amateur seaman himself, set out to recount his forebear's journey. The Way of a Ship is a mesmerizing account of Benjamin's life on board the square-rigger Beara Head, a remarkable reconstruction of a harrowing journey through the most dangerous waters, furling sails 150 feet aloft in heavy weather; enduring cold and danger; sleep-deprived and malnourished, at times half-starved; fighting each day to save the ship and his crewmates. In the process, Benjamin "learns the eternal lessons of the sea, which is to say that he finds out the sort of man he is."
But The Way of a Ship extends beyond the dramatic narrative of the voyage itself, evoking both the romance and brutality of a bygone era, illuminating the history of square-rigger seamen and the last days of the "beautiful, widow-making, deep-sea" sailing ships, above all demonstrating how the ascendancy of the steam engine led to the end of a centuries'-old tradition. Derek Lundy's masterful account reminds readers of what Melville and Conrad expressed so well: that the sea voyage is an overarching metaphor for life itself.
Review
"An exceptionally rich and satisfying weave. Hoisting sail aboard his ship
Beara Head in 1885, Lundy sails her on an enthralling voyage through
maritime literature, history, sociology and folklore. Heir to the tradition
of Dana, Melville, Conrad, Lundy is so intelligent and vivid a writer that
The Way of a Ship earns its place as a worthy twenty-first century
descendant of such classics as Two Years Before the Mast and Typhoon." Jonathan Raban
Review
"A saga of life under sail that touches to the quick." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Derek Lundy's new and marvelous The Way of a Ship is a work of
non-fiction, but in the way that the best novels always are. The
setting the sea ultimately becomes the principal character in this
gorgeous book and, as a protagonist, Lundy's ocean is as real and nuanced
and true as Emma Bovary." Toronto Globe and Mail
Review
Armchair adventurers will devour this book about a trip around Cape Horn during the last days of great sailing ships.... Lundy knows the beauty of the sea as well as its malign influence.... A terrific read tough, hardy and strong. Alan Hustak, The Gazette (Montreal)
Review
The strength of the book lies in Lundys use of the skills that made his 1988 Godforsaken Sea a bestseller
. He understands the lore and has a passion for the material, delivering powerful and occasionally poetic descriptions, sprinkled with the musings of the best writers about the sea. The Toronto Star
Review
Agreeably discursive
.There is also plenty of lore
.He succeeds, for the voyage ends with us knowing precisely what a sailor meant when, meeting yet another heartbreak, he exclaimed, Whod sell a farm? It was the short way of crying Whod sell a farm and go to sea? National Post
Review
"The Way of a Ship serves well as a story of what life was like for thousands of nameless seamen, many lost to sea, and until now to history. Edmonton Journal
Synopsis
In this magnificent seagoing yarn, Derek Lundy recreates the voyage of the Beara Head, a merchant ship that sailed around Cape Horn in the 1880s. Based partly on the experiences of Lundy's great-great uncle, The Way of a Ship examines the cultural and economic significance of the rise of steamships -- and the inevitable death of the Age of Sail and its centuries-old traditions.
Lundy seamlessly weaves together historical context with a gripping narrative style to recreate a white-knuckle journey that depicts not only the dangerous day-to-day life of a sailor, but also, as sail gave way to steam, the end of an era. The Way of a Ship is more than a nautical history; like Melville and Conrad, Lundy portrays the sea voyage as a poignant metaphor for life itself.
Derek Lundy is the author of the international bestseller Godforsaken Sea: Racing the World's Most Dangerous Waters. He lives in Salt Spring Island.
"A fantastic ride through one of the greatest moments in the history of adventure ... Lundy is a master of tension and storytelling." -- Seattle Times
About the Author
Derek Lundy is the author of
Godforsaken Sea: The True Story of a Race Through the World's Most Dangerous Waters. He lives in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, with his wife and daughter.